Your First UConn Game In Person

[UncleSpliff]

First game ever was at the Civic Center against Cal in the 1990 NCAA Tournament (does anyone know how we got to play our first 2 games at our home arena??? Seems like quite a conflict of interest). I was 8 years old.

Second game was at the old Brendan Byrne arena for the Sweet 16 game against Clemson

Third game was the Final 8 game against Duke

The following year my father became a donor and we had season tickets for 20+ years.

 

[UncleSpliff]

The first I can remember was I think 96 or 97...Jacques Vaughn and Kansas at the XL Center.

I was at this game too. It was 1997. Kansas was #1 in the country and Kirk King and Ricky Moore were suspended because of the plane ticket thing. We had the game tied with 3 minutes left before Kansas pulled away. I think we would have won if we had King and Moore that day.

 

[nimzovich]

December 1960 in the Payne-Whitney Gymnasium. Yale won 63-55. Growing up in New Haven, I was a Yale fan and an usher for the Yale home games in those days.
I was crushed when Yale lost in OT to Billy Packer’s Wake Forest team in the 62 NCAAs. Dave Schumacher missed 2FTs when 1 of 2 would have won in regulation.
eventually became a UConn student, and saw my first game in Storrs in December 1965, as UConn beat Yale 95-73.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

1989 vs Cuse at the HCC sitting behind the basket on or around MLK Day. 68-62 win for the good guys. Cuse had Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Stevie Thomson, Dave Johnson, Matt Roe. On paper we had no business competing with two All-Americans and Owens who was a McDonalds All-American recruit but I recall Uncle Cliffy, Phil Gamble and Tate George scoring about 60 of the 68 points to will us to a W before Huskymania began the following season. I was in middle school at the time and exhausted the next day going to school.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Feb 21,1967 vs New Hampshire. Bialasuknia scored 42. I was 11 and thought the Field House was the coolest place ever.

Yup! That was February of 1988. I was a freshman at UConn. Cuse was ranked #12 and Jeff King (RIP) threw the ball away and Stevie Thompson scored the game winner. That SUCKED!

Channel 8 would broadcast a few games. Dick Galliette would announce I believe. I remember seeing Bill Corley set a UConn single game scoring record and they had the UConn-URI slowdown game.

From looking at rosters,I'm pretty sure I went to my first game at the Field House during the 1962-63 season, but don't know more than that.

The following season, I started to go with my dad semi-regularly to school night games. This makes most sense because I can recall excitement surrounding new coach Fred Shabel and sophomore newcomer Spider Hesford's defensive energy in stealing and diving for loose balls which I'd seen a bit of the year before when we'd arrived early enough to see the end of a freshman game beforehand.

The comments quoted are for memorable games I saw live, with uncertainty as to whether the Rhode Island slowdown was seen on TV or in-person.

What a great thread on a great morning.

 

[husky8273]

'78-'79 season - field house - Thompson, McKay, Carr, Abro was a freshman

Abro ws a freshman in '75-'76. just retired as AD at Albertus

 

[husky8273]

First game ever was at the Civic Center against Cal in the 1990 NCAA Tournament (does anyone know how we got to play our first 2 games at our home arena??? Seems like quite a conflict of interest). I was 8 years old.

this led to a tournament rule change

 

[ucp990411]

Channel 8 would broadcast a few games. Dick Galliette would announce I believe. I remember seeing Bill Corley set a UConn single game scoring record and they had the UConn-URI slowdown game.

That Bill Corley game broke my heart. How could Burr Carlson let someone break Wes Bialasuknia's single game scoring record! I remember listening to it on my clock radio and being so angry about it.

 

[Kathy]

Abro ws a freshman in '75-'76. just retired as AD at Albertus

My bad, should have remembered he started the same year I did. My husband was friends of his in college and then their banking careers overlapped for many years.

 

[Vancat]

80 something? Civic Center. Do not recall the opponent. I do recall being entertained by Earl Kelley. In subsequent games at the Field House, there was a lady who would always yell “SHOOT IT EARL!”. I recall clearly the game vs ST Johns at the new Gampel Pavilion. Random thoughts.

 

[SoFla Steve]

Wow! I don't remember who we played, but I do remember it was in the Field House and Dee Rowe was coaching so mid-70s I guess. I'm sure it was a Yankee Conference game.

 

[wheelerdog]

First game ever was at the Civic Center against Cal in the 1990 NCAA Tournament (does anyone know how we got to play our first 2 games at our home arena??? Seems like quite a conflict of interest). I was 8 years old.

That was before they put in the rule that you can't play tournament games on a court where you played more that 3(?) home games.

I read Villanova limited their games at Wells Fargo this year for this very reason.

 

[HuskyBoi]

Never went to the school, nor from connecticut, from jersey but my first game was Uconn vs indiana in that 2k sports classic final vs Indiana U back in 2013-14 season, surrounded by my brother who went to IU and a whole bunch of IU Fans in our section and to see Vonleh miss that turn around J for us to take that W was incredibly satisfying. Loved all the IU complainers on the way out of MSG. I vividly remember the absolute awe everyone was in the arena when any Napier shot went in, he had everything going in that night and some

 

[Len Contillo]

As a Freshman in 1964 living in the Jungle I saw UConn with Wes and Toby beat AIC in the field house with a guy named Jim Calhoun. I was hooked

 

[blackuc]

1979 at the New Haven Coliseum against Syracuse. Unfortunately we lost but it was a great atmosphere

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If memory serves (no longer a given) during the first year of the BE (1979-1980) I saw us beat BC at the New Haven Coliseum (HCC was still under repair).

It's a bit fuzzy but I believe we won a close one because Corny wouldn't be denied the last few trips down the floor. I do remember discussion on how good we would be on e Aleksinas became eligible the following year

 

[RichCTBB]

November ‘94 vs Moscow Spartak

 

[McLovin]

been going to games since I was in the womb.

Earliest games I remember were early 2000s.

Went to almost every game at the HCC from birth until college graduation when I moved out of state.

 

[Improviser]

That Bill Corley game broke my heart. How could Burr Carlson let someone break Wes Bialasuknia's single game scoring record! I remember listening to it on my clock radio and being so angry about it.

I was at that game. Corley would have scored a lot more, but he missed a ton of foul shots.

 

[Baltic]

Seeing Patrick Ewing on the court the other night made me think about all the games I've seen over the years and how great the old Big East was. It also made me think back to my first UConn game in person.

It was a January 14, 1984 Saturday game against Seton Hall and Coach PJ Carlisemo. UConn, coached by Dom Perno, won 76-68 in the old Field House. That UConn team included Earl Kelley, Tim Coles and Karl Hobbs. UConn went 5-11 in the Big East that season and 13-15 overall. Notable Big East opponents that season included Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Pearl Washington.

I can't believe I didn't go to any home games my first semester. It was literally $1 and your student ID to get in. Anyway, do you remember your first UConn game?

January 1963 in the Field House as a Freshman

 

[Baltic]

I was at that game. Corley would have scored a lot more, but he missed a ton of foul shots.

I was at a game in the Field House in 1966 and saw Coach Fred Shabel escorting recruit Corley to a court side seat. Bill Corley was from Mineola High School in Long Island and knew my sister. Shabel quickly made another seat available and had a nice running conversation with Corley. I always had mixed feelings about Corley attending UConn because the following year Shabel left and Homer Babbidge became president of the University. Babbidge had this plan to Make UConn an Ivy League clone and severely restricted sports. the new coach, Burr Carlson, had his hands tied and couldn’t recruit the players to augment Corley’s talents because of University policy. Babbidge went down in flames a short time later.

 

[Waquoit]

Yup! That was February of 1988. I was a freshman at UConn. Cuse was ranked #12 and Jeff King (RIP) threw the ball away and Stevie Thompson scored the game winner. That SUCKED!

I still feel bad for Jeff on that play. Nobody was moving to the ball and time was ticking down. That's why I was so happy when he ended up being a hero of the NIT run.

 

[Ned UC'83]

My first post in about 15 years. This is my favorite Boneyard topic, and its brought me out of hiding on the day of a blizzard. Love the stories, I remember a bunch of the games people have mentioned.

Sat Feb 9, 1974. My 14th birthday. Afternoon game. Our guys beat UMass in overtime. UMass was good that year. Great crowd at the Field House, packed and noisy. They erupted as the game ended.
I grew up in Northwest CT. We were on the wrong side of a mountain, only channel 3. Other than news highlights I had only seen 1-2 UConn basketball games on tv, but I became a devoted WTIC radio listener when I was 11 or so.

I had 2 older brothers at UConn in 73-74. The oldest was an RA in Ellsworth. His birthday present to me was the UMass game. Mom drove me to Hartford on Friday afternoon and put me on a bus to Storrs. My brother picked me up at the bus stop on 195 where Storrs Common is now. Friday's dinner was with a bunch of the RAs in the HR's apartment. Rice and vegetables, some of the RAs were smoking in the apartment, very hippy vibe. The music playing on the campus radio station was definitely different than what my parent's radio played. Cal Chapman lived on my brother's floor. The hall phone was right outside my brother's door, and Cal sat on the floor talking to a girl on the phone for more than an hour that night. My brother introduced us and Cal shook my hand. That was a cool moment. I don't think Cal had a good game the next day, but don't remember. I guess 3-4 of the players lived in Ellsworth that year, and we saw them walking together toward the Field house 2-3 hours before the game. I think Al Weston was one of them, not sure.

On Sat night there were streakers and a big crowd cheering them on outside the dorm. I watched with bewilderment from the window of my brother's room, 7-8 floors up. I wasn't sure whether I thought all of it was fun or disturbing. It was late and very cold out.

My other brother drove me back across the state on Sunday morning, handed me off to my Mom somewhere west of Hartford. Obviously a memorable game and weekend.

 

[Mr. French]

My first ever UConn game was the 2004 first round in Buffalo. I scalped tickets and went by myself in the nosebleeds, didn't care that I was by myself.

Saw UConn almost lose to a not very good U. Buffalo team in 2009 at the beginning of the season, ranked #2.

Didn't see UConn at Gampel or XL until 2013, watched the OT game that Shabazz won for us vs. Memphis at XL, great game. Been to XL or Gampel 2x since, I believe.

 

[alexd]

The first I can remember was I think 96 or 97...Jacques Vaughn and Kansas at the XL Center.

OMG....it was Jan, 1997.... you picked a good one. One of the craziest crowds ever at the HCC. Amazing game. Our young pups hung in until the very end.